Kremlin rejects allegations of Russia's involvement in protests in Georgia
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Russia has nothing to do with protests in Georgia over a controversial draft law.
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Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Peskov strongly criticized attempts to ascribe the "foreign agents" bill to "Russian influence."
"Moscow has nothing to do with the Georgian bill on foreign agents, nothing was inspired by the Kremlin," Peskov stressed.
Clashes in Georgia provoke Moscow's concern because it is a neighboring state, he said, and urged Russians currently visiting or staying in the Caucasian country to be careful and refrain from attending areas of protests.
"Otherwise, we have no desire to comment or interfere in any way in these matters, we have nothing to do with them. But, of course, we recommend our citizens to be extremely careful," he said.
The approval of a draft law on Transparency of Foreign Influence led to massive demonstrations in Georgia’s capital since Monday, with protesters claiming the bill could stifle freedoms in the country.
The proposed law, which was drafted by the ruling Georgian Dream Party and has now been withdrawn, would have required all media outlets and non-governmental organizations that receive 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence.” Grain deal, Nord Stream investigations
Turning to the extension of the Istanbul grain deal, Peskov said there are a lot of questions about ultimate recipients of the grain, and implementation of the part of the deal concerning lifting of restrictions from export of Russian food and fertilizers.
The 120-day deal, brokered by the UN and Türkiye last July and extended in November, will be renewed on March 18 if no party objects.
Commenting on a recent report claiming Ukraine was behind the September 2022 explosions of Nord Stream gas pipelines, constructed to deliver gas from Russian to Europe, Peskov said the task was "too difficult," and there are "very few well-trained state special services" able to carry out such an operation.
"We continue to demand a quick, transparent investigation. We continue to demand that we be admitted to this investigation. We believe that this (the incident) must not be hushed up, the attention ... must not be diverted to some minor versions and hypotheses," he emphasized.
Peskov urged to identify "customers and performers," "because this is too dangerous a precedent, committing a terrorist attack against the international critical energy infrastructure."
The spokesman called "absurd" allegations of Russia's involvement, saying that "only an inflamed brain could come up with such an idea."
"You can see that the Anglo-Saxons, whom we have been talking about from the very beginning, are fussing. They obviously have a lot of awkwardness because of this terrorist attack in their relations with the Germans," he said.
The New York Times, citing anonymous US intelligence officials, has suggested a pro-Ukrainian group is to blame for the sabotage, which caused extensive damage to the pipelines connecting Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea.
